Cloud computing has continued to spread, and various types of storage clouds have been provided. However, these storage clouds vary depending on the characteristics of each service. Therefore, a certain degree of knowledge is required to utilize these storage clouds according to the proper purpose or use.
Methods for synchronizing specific folders in a cloud-utilizing terminal with storage clouds have become popular. However, it is left to the user to entrust data in the cloud-utilizing terminal to a given storage cloud. For example, when folders have to be distributed and stored in each storage cloud, the user always has to be aware of which data is being entrusted to which service with a storage cloud.
The storage as the location for storing the data and the views (folder views) for displaying the data should be independent. However, the storage and views are not independent in conventional methods. As a result, the user sacrifices storage cloud convenience and folder ease-of-use.
Patent Literature 1 describes a server device including: a storage information recording means for recording fee information used for online storage of a plurality of online storage data files serving as candidates for a storage location, a file inputting means for inputting data files, a frequency of use inputting means for inputting the expected frequency of use with respect to a data file inputted by the file inputting means, a calculating means for calculating the comparison value for each online storage data file serving as a candidate for a storage location based on the expected frequency of use and the fee information, and a determining means for determining the online storage data files for each storage location based on the comparison value of each online storage data file calculated by the calculating means (claim 1).
Patent Literature 2 describes a file management device for automatic log-in to a plurality of online storage services, in which the device has a user interface viewing and receiving operational input of files in online storage in the same manner as files present locally, and in which file operations of the user received by the user interface are reflected in the files in online storage using file operation information (claim 1).
Patent Literature 3 describes an optimum placement method for files in which the client has a fuzzy membership function numerically quantifying and representing the processing request level of a user and the usage condition status of a server, attribute data such as a processing request and file size is added to a file, file placement rules determining the validity of a file assignment to a server are added based on the processing request and server usage status, and the client references the fuzzy membership function based on the attribute data of the file, selects the optimum file placement rules, and selects the optimum placement of the file according to the selected file placement rules (claim 4).
Patent Literature 4 describes a file server system in which a load information monitoring means is provided in each of a plurality of file servers to measure the load status of each of the plurality of file servers (claim 1), in which the load information monitoring means includes means for counting the number of unprocessed file access requests in each of the plurality of file servers (claim 2), in which a file access request allocating means includes a file dividing and allocating means for referencing the load status measured by the load information monitoring means and selecting a file server to store a file when writing a file (claim 3), and in which the file dividing and allocating means is provided with a file dividing and allocating means for selecting at least two file servers for storing files to be written (claim 4).
Patent Literature 5 describes an electronic filing device including a classification/keyword adding means for adding a classification and a search keyword indicating the content of the classification to a recorded document, a document storing means for storing the document in accordance with the classification and search keyword added by the adding means, a classification selecting means for selecting the classification for a plurality of hierarchical levels in a document classification directory from among the classifications stored in the document storage means, an individual document management information storing means for storing the classifications for each hierarchical level of a document classification directory selected by the selecting means for storage as individual document storage information for each user, a document retrieval means for retrieving documents with the same search keyword from the document storage means based on the classifications of each hierarchical level in the individual document storage information stored by the storing means, and a link information storage means for storing, along with the classifications of each hierarchical level of the document classification direction, link information for each document with the same search keyword retrieved by the retrieval means (claim 1).
Patent Literature 6 describes a method allowing a computer connected communicably to a policy server to determine the confidentiality level of document information (claim 1).
Patent Literature 7 describes a method allowing a computer to determine the priority of processing for classifying a plurality of documents (claim 1).
Patent Literature 8 describes a file management device including an attribute content managing means for managing the attributes and content of a file required for filing and a filing model, and a registration-request reference file (claim 1).
Patent Literature 9 describes a virtual file management system for managing files in a plurality of servers using virtual file identifiers, which has a management table storing a pair consisting of the server name housing the actual data and the actual file identifier in the server for each virtual file identifier (claim 1).